Aliyah Holzhauser Instructor Kassadra Hartford WRI 101 20 October 2014 Letter from Birmingham Jail: Analytical Essay In 1963 Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote “The Letter from Birmingham Jail” in which he lays out what exactly encouraged his leadership. King was arrested while peacefully protesting against segregation in Birmingham, Alabama. His letter was a response to a statement called “A Call for Unity,” written by white clergymen of Birmingham. He was simply defending his practice of nonviolent resistance and carrying out the practice of civil disobedience. The problem at hand was obviously segregation. King argues that people have a moral responsibility to go against unjust laws. King reveals this position through his language. He uses repetition …show more content…
Now, there is nothing wrong in having ordinance, which requires a permit for a parade. But such an ordinance becomes unjust when it is used to maintain segregation and to deny citizens the First Amendment privilege of peaceful assembly and protest” (King 416) Here King is not bad talking the law; he is simply saying that law is being used to oppress African Americans. He was protesting in a peaceful way, which is legal. This was not the case in Birmingham, a black person protesting is not allowed because of the unacceptable treatment they get. All this was used to show that his arrest was uncalled for, just like the treatment of all other African Americans during this time. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a minister and a social activist. He was known as the man who led the Civil rights movement. He applied philosophy, religion, and laws in his arguments. He quotes the clergymen when they say his activities are “unwise and untimely” (King 411) The clergymen are pretty much saying King should have waited. He goes against that statement by saying, “Actually time is neutral; it can be used either destructively or constructively” (King 418). Ultimately King was responding to the clergymen’s letter and addressing the problem of segregation. King utilizes literary and rhetorical strategies in order to get his point across and he does it
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested on April 12, 1963, in Birmingham, for having a protest without a proper permit. On the exact day King was arrested, eight clergymen from Alabama wrote a letter called “A Call for Unity.” The letter called for termination of civil activities and demonstrations and designated King an “outsider” and saying that outsiders were the problems in Birmingham and not the blacks that are from there. On April 16 King wrote “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, which was his responds to his fellow clergymen. He wrote the letter as a means to convince the clergymen and the white moderate that the nonviolent demonstrations that had got him arrested, were a necessity and to enlighten them on why the segregation laws in the southern states needed to be changed. In “Letter from Birmingham Jail” King uses logos, pathos, and ethos to persuade the clergymen and convince them in assisting him in putting an end to segregation laws of blacks in Birmingham, Alabama.
“…When you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate filled policemen curse, kick and even kill your black brothers and sisters…” –Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from a Birmingham Jail. Over the years, many groups of people have been denied basic human rights just based on simple things such as gender or race. These acts go against the UDHR, or the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The UDHR is a document of the equal and inalienable rights/freedoms all people are born with. One statement from the UDHR that was disregarded is the right to an equal education. An example from not too long ago is the story of Malala Yousafzai who was shot for trying to get an education because she is a girl. Article 26 of the UDHR states: “Everyone has the right to an education…”
After being arrested in downtown Birmingham on a Good Friday, Reverend Martian Luther King Jr. wrote his famous letter, “A Letter From Birmingham Jail” responding to the criticism demonstrated by eight prominent white clergymen. This letter has been found important through out history because it expresses King’s feelings towards the un-just event and it is an example of a well-written argument.
Martin Luther King Junior's letter from a Birmingham Jail was an expression of his encouragement for protest against tradition and established laws and a justification for his actions. King, a leader of a civil-rights group that supported protest against traditional views, encouraged protesting against tradition and established laws that are unjust. In his letter from Birmingham Jail King states: "It was illegal to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler's Germany. Even so, I am sure that, had I lived in Germany at that time, I would have aided and comforted my Jewish brothers. If today I lived in a Communist country where certain principles dear to the Christian faith are suppressed, I would openly advocate disobeying that country's anti-religious laws." This excerpt shows that King encourages protest because in some situations he deems it necessary, be it in Hitler's Germany, a Communist country, or any situation in which injustices are occurring. In the last sentence of the excerpt King openly admits that he would protest against established laws or traditions. King was against the traditional views and unjust laws, which discriminated against him and his fellow people.
King clears up any idea that he’s just someone who has broken the law for no reason. He does this by saying; “I would be the first to advocate obeying just laws. One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” (Para 15) This statement tells us that Dr. King is simply adhering to his moral responsibility by doing as he’s supposed to. He knows that following a one-sided makes no sense, and it would be submitting to evil. He even goes on to quote St. Augustine, declaring that, “an unjust law is no law at all.” (Para 15) Therefore, the segregation laws that were implemented in Birmingham at the time were by St. Augustine’s logic, no law at
On August 28, 1963 Dr. King made his way to Washington Mall from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial to commit his speech to his fellow Americans. Dr. King commands his speech during an ironic period time of America history. African-Americans were frowned upon by the Caucasian. Not only the African-American had a difficult time fitting in, also Asians and Hispanics were discriminated and surrogated from the Caucasian population. The heartless Caucasian police officers would verbally command their racists’ hounds on the desperate but yet innocent African-American young adults and children. The inhuman Caucasian fire department used their almighty water hose on the nonviolent protesters, only because the protesters’ skins were darker than theirs.
In 1963, Birmingham was one of the most segregated cities in the South, so civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. brought his campaign of nonviolent resistance to Birmingham. After leading a demonstration on April 12, 1963, King was arrested for violating demonstration ordinances. Shortly after, eight white clergymen in Birmingham sent out a public statement claiming that although they support desegregation, they advise against anymore protests advocated by King, stating that the “demonstrations are unwise and untimely” (Carpenter et al,). While in jail, King took an opportunity to continue his campaign by responding to these eight white clergymen. In his “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” King uses religious and philosophical allusions to
Considering the context of its creation, the “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” by Martin Luther King Jr. is remarkably powerful that sets many citizens to be involved for social justice. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr was the first African American leader for the Civil Rights Movements. Because of his role as an activist and a humanitarian leader, he was best known for his role in civil engagements using nonviolent civil disobedience. The letter was a response to Birmingham clergy that segregation can happen on streets and instead of doing it the violent way, justices could be brought in a non-violent way to break unjust laws. Moving on, King Jr’s readings have a relationship with “From Non-Violent Resistance,” by Mohandas K. Gandhi. He is
"Martin Luther King Jr.'s letter from Birmingham Jail, which was written in April 16, 1963, is a passionate letter that addresses and responds to the issue and criticism that a group of white clergymen had thrown at him and his pro- black American organization about his and his organization's non- violent demonstrative actions against racial prejudice and injustice among black Americans in Birmingham.
He shows a lot of authority in the way he writes and speaks. King is trying to show everyone that he is well-educated and well-cultured. He shows strong leadership and well guidance to his fellow followers. “Some have asked, ‘Why didn’t you give the new administration time to act?’ The only answer that I can give inquiry is that new administration must be prodded about as much as the ongoing one before it acts. We will be sadly mistaken if we fed that election of Mr. Boutwell will bring the millennium to Birmingham.” (King 2) As King says “we will sadly be mistaken” he clarifies that he is speaking for all his followers and believers (King 2). King speaks on behave of his follow friends, group members, and believers. Also when King says, “The only answer that I can give inquiry is…” he shows hegemony because he is saying I. By him saying I can give inquiry, it shows that he does know what he is taking about and how he is well aware of the situation. Therefore, he can be trusted by others. “We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntary given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.” (King 2). In this statement, King allows us to understand and visualize the way it was for him and all African Americans. King takes matters into his own hands and deliberates the real way of life for them. He explains how most felt and how most had to gain respect for themselves. He explains that they have
Martin Luther King, Jr. is known to be a civil rights activist, humanitarian, a father, and a clergyman. He is well known for fighting for the equal rights of colored people and ending discrimination. King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail is an important part of history that showed King’s opinion of a letter that he happened to read in the newspaper written by a group of clergyman. In this letter, the group of clergyman report that colored people, also known as black people, are being violent towards Birmingham City. Also, the clergymen believed the time that will allow segregation to be diminished was not happening anytime soon because it is not convenient. King refuted the clergymen’s argument in a variety of ways using tactics of argumentation and persuasion like appeal to emotion through real life examples, appeal to logic, and even articulating certain phrases through metaphors and word choice. Many of these different tactics of argumentation and persuasion made his letter very effective and is now seen as a great piece that is looked upon highly today.
In his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke of the “appalling silence” of those who are innately good, yet refuse to take any action, expressing that nonexpression is a greater evil than any radical viewpoint. To this group, you, who may not vote, who may not speak out against injustice, who may not express any opinions, I ask of you: does this silent portion of the population still exist, quietly living its lives and creating minimal impact on the world around it, or are King’s messages antiquated and outdated in modern society? Are you the modern-day representatives of this unfortunate group? These “good people” do exist in large numbers in the United States, and the nation has to pay for their inactivity. Laws not supported by a majority opinion, the lack of an influence in politics from the majority…society cannot benefit in any way from the silence of these people. Assuming that they are left out and forgotten by the system, these nonparticipants feel resentment for the isolation, and perpetuate the vicious cycle of inactivity.
Justice is often misconceived as injustice, and thus some essential matters that require more legal attentions than the others are neglected; ergo, some individuals aim to change that. The principles of civil disobedience, which are advocated in both “Civil Disobedience” by Henry David Thoreau and “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr. to the society, is present up to this time in the U.S. for that purpose.
In 1963 on April 16th, Martin Luther King Jr, who was in the Birmingham jail for non-violent protesting wrote a letter in response to a statement from eight white Clergymen, in which they stated that his recent activities were “unwise and untimely.” In this letter King proceeds to state his purpose and reasons for his timing and his protests and powerfully he does so. He most obviously directs the letter to the Clergymen but there seems to be a many different audiences he wishes to enlighten on his thoughts. From what I gather he wants public figures and everyday men to read his letter, and by doing so he hopes to raise awareness for the cruel acts that have been done to the blacks. King gets his point across, that segregation is unfair and morally not right and that man has a responsibility to act against unjust laws, by using many different strategies throughout the letter. He uses logos, pathos, and ethos to do so. While using these devices he shows emotion, gives logic to his reasoning’s and gives credibility as well.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was a pastor, activist, and leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. Mr. King was a man of honor and respect even in the troubling situations of serving jail time. People who were supposed to support him questioned his actions, Dr. King still stood by what he believed in. In Birmingham, Alabama Dr. King hoped that the white religious leaders will come to his aid but instead found reluctance and opposition. In the “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Martin Luther King, Jr. refutes his critics claims through the use of passionate tones, metaphors, and allusions.